Low power pulse oximeter

ABSTRACT

A pulse oximeter may reduce power consumption in the absence of overriding conditions. Various sampling mechanisms may be used individually or in combination. Various parameters may be monitored to trigger or override a reduced power consumption state. In this manner, a pulse oximeter can lower power consumption without sacrificing performance during, for example, high noise conditions or oxygen desaturations.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claimis identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the presentapplication are incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57 and made apart of this specification.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Pulse oximetry is a widely accepted noninvasive procedure for measuringthe oxygen saturation level of a person's arterial blood, an indicatorof their oxygen supply. Oxygen saturation monitoring is crucial incritical care and surgical applications, where an insufficient bloodsupply can quickly lead to injury or death. FIG. 1 illustrates aconventional pulse oximetry system 100, which has a sensor 110 and amonitor 150. The sensor 110, which can be attached to an adult's fingeror an infant's foot, has both red and infrared LEDs 112 and a photodiodedetector 114. For a finger, the sensor is configured so that the LEDs112 project light through the fingernail and into the blood vessels andcapillaries underneath. The photodiode 114 is positioned at the fingertip opposite the fingernail so as to detect the LED emitted light as itemerges from the finger tissues. A pulse oximetry sensor is described inU.S. Pat. No. 6,088,607 entitled “Low Noise Optical Probe,” which isassigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated byreference herein.

Also shown in FIG. 1, the monitor 150 has LED drivers 152, a signalconditioning and digitization front-end 154, a signal processor 156, adisplay driver 158 and a display 159. The LED drivers 152 alternatelyactivate the red and IR LEDs 112 and the front-end 154 conditions anddigitizes the resulting current generated by the photodiode 114, whichis proportional to the intensity of the detected light. The signalprocessor 156 inputs the conditioned photodiode signal and determinesoxygen saturation based on the differential absorption by arterial bloodof the two wavelengths emitted by the LEDs 112. Specifically, a ratio ofdetected red and infrared intensities is calculated by the signalprocessor 156, and an arterial oxygen saturation value is empiricallydetermined based on the ratio obtained. The display driver 158 andassociated display 159 indicate a patient's oxygen saturation, heartrate and plethysmographic waveform.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Increasingly, pulse oximeters are being utilized in portable,battery-operated applications. For example, a pulse oximeter may beattached to a patient during emergency transport and remain with thepatient as they are moved between hospital wards. Further, pulseoximeters are often implemented as plug-in modules for multiparameterpatient monitors having a restricted power budget. These applicationsand others create an increasing demand for lower power and higherperformance pulse oximeters. A conventional approach for reducing powerconsumption in portable electronics, typically utilized by devices suchas calculators and notebook computers, is to have a “sleep mode” wherethe circuitry is powered-down when the devices are idle.

FIG. 2 illustrates a sleep-mode pulse oximeter 200 utilizingconventional sleep-mode power reduction. The pulse oximeter 200 has apulse oximeter processor 210 and a power control 220. The power control220 monitors the pulse oximeter output parameters 212, such as oxygensaturation and pulse rate, and controls the processor power 214according to measured activity. For example, if there is no significantchange in the oxygen saturation value over a certain time period, thepower control 220 will power down the processor 210, except perhaps fora portion of memory. The power control 220 may have a timer thattriggers the processor 210 to periodically sample the oxygen saturationvalue, and the power control 220 determines if any changes in thisparameter are occurring. If not, the power control 220 will leave theprocessor 210 in sleep mode.

There are a number of disadvantages to applying consumer electronicsleep mode techniques to pulse oximetry. By definition, the pulseoximeter is not functioning during sleep mode. Unlike consumerelectronics, pulse oximetry cannot afford to miss events, such aspatient oxygen desaturation. Further, there is a trade-off betweenshorter but more frequent sleep periods to avoid a missed event and theincreased processing overhead to power-up after each sleep period. Also,sleep mode techniques rely only on the output parameters to determinewhether the pulse oximeter should be active or in sleep mode. Finally,the caregiver is given no indication of when the pulse oximeter outputswere last updated.

One aspect of a low power pulse oximeter is a sensor interface adaptedto drive a pulse oximetry sensor and receive a corresponding inputsignal. A processor derives a physiological measurement corresponding tothe input signal, and a display driver communicates the measurement to adisplay. A controller generates a sampling control output to at leastone of said sensor interface and said processor so as to reduce theaverage power consumption of the pulse oximeter consistent with apredetermined power target.

In one embodiment, a calculator derives a signal status outputresponsive to the input signal. The signal status output is communicatedto the controller to override the sampling control output. The signalstatus output may indicate the occurrence of a low signal quality or theoccurrence of a physiological event. In another embodiment, the sensorinterface has an emitter driver adapted to provide a current output toan emitter portion of the sensor. Here, the sampling control outputdetermines a duty cycle of the current output. In a particularembodiment, the duty cycle may be in the range of about 3.125% to about25%.

In another embodiment, the sensor interface has a front-end adapted toreceive the input signal from a detector portion of the sensor and toprovide a corresponding digitized signal. Here, the sampling controloutput determines a powered-down period of the front-end. A confidenceindicator responsive to a duration of the powered-down period may beprovided and displayed.

In yet another embodiment, the pulse oximeter comprises a plurality ofdata blocks responsive to the input signal, wherein the sampling controloutput determines a time shift of successive ones of the data blocks.The time shift may vary in the range of about 1.2 seconds to about 4.8seconds.

An aspect of a low power pulse oximetry method comprises the steps ofsetting a power target and receiving an input signal from a pulseoximetry sensor. Further steps include calculating signal status relatedto the input signal, calculating power status related to the powertarget, and sampling based upon the result of the calculating signalstatus and the calculating power status steps.

In one embodiment, the calculating signal status step comprises thesubsteps of receiving a signal statistic related to the input signal,receiving a physiological measurement related to the input signal,determining a low signal quality condition from the signal statistic,determining an event occurrence from the physiological measurement, andindicating an override based upon the low signal quality condition orthe event occurrence. The calculating power status step may comprise thesubsteps of estimating an average power consumption for at least aportion of the pulse oximeter, and indicating an above power targetcondition when the average power consumption is above the power target.The sampling step may comprise the substep of increasing sampling as theresult of the override. The sampling step may also comprise the substepof decreasing sampling as the result of the above power targetcondition, except during the override.

Another aspect of a low power pulse oximetry method comprises the stepsof detecting an override related to a measure of signal quality or aphysiological measurement event, increasing the pulse oximeter power toa higher power level when the override exists, and reducing the pulseoximeter power to a lower power level when the override does not exist.The method may comprise the further steps of predetermining a targetpower level for a pulse oximeter and cycling between the lower powerlevel and the higher power level so that an average pulse oximeter poweris consistent with the target power level.

In one embodiment, the reducing step comprises the substep of decreasingthe duty cycle of an emitter driver output to the sensor. In anotherembodiment, the reducing step comprises the substep of powering-down adetector front-end. A further step may comprise displaying a confidenceindicator related to the duration of the powering-down substep. In yetanother embodiment, the reducing step comprises the substep ofincreasing the time-shift of post-processor data blocks.

Another aspect of a low power pulse oximeter comprises a sensorinterface adapted to receive an input signal from a sensor, a signalprocessor configured to communicate with the sensor interface and togenerate an internal parameter responsive to the input signal, and asampling controller responsive to the internal parameter so as togenerate a sampling control to alter the power consumption of at leastone of the sensor interface and the signal processor. The signalprocessor may be configured to generate an output parameter and thesampling controller may be responsive to a combination of the internaland output parameters so as to generate a sampling control to alter thepower consumption of at least one of the sensor interface and the signalprocessor. The internal parameter may be indicative of the quality ofthe input signal. The output parameter may be indicative of oxygensaturation.

In another embodiment, the sampling controller is responsive to apredetermined power target in combination with the internal parameter soas to generate a sampling control to alter the power consumption of atleast one of the sensor interface and the signal processor. The signalprocessor may be configured to generate an output parameter and thesampling controller may be responsive to a combination of the internaland output parameters and the power target so as to generate a samplingcontrol to alter the power consumption of at least one of the sensorinterface and the signal processor. The sensor interface may comprise anemitter driver and the sampling control may modify a duty cycle of theemitter driver. The sensor interface may comprise a detector front-endand the sampling control may intermittently power-down the detectorfront-end. The processor may generate a plurality of data blockscorresponding to the input signal, where each of the data blocks have atime shift from a preceding one of the data blocks, and where thesampling control may determine the amount of the time shift.

A further aspect of a low power pulse oximeter comprises an interfacemeans for communicating with a sensor, a processor means for generatingan internal parameter and an output parameter, and a controller meansfor selectively reducing the power consumption of at least one of theinterface means and the processor means based upon the parameters. Inone embodiment, the interface means comprises a driver means fordetermining the duty cycle of emitter current to the sensor, the drivermeans being responsive to the controller means. In another embodiment,the interface means comprises a detector front-end means for receivingan input signal from the sensor, the power for the detector front-endmeans being responsive to the controller means. In yet anotherembodiment, the processor means comprises a post-processor means fordetermining a time shift between data blocks, the post-processor meansbeing responsive to the controller means. In a further embodiment, thecontroller means comprises a signal status calculator means forgenerating an indication of a low signal quality or a physiologicalevent based upon at least one of an internal signal statistic and anoutput physiological measurement, and a control engine means incommunications with the signal status calculator means for generating asampling control responsive to the indication. In yet a furtherembodiment, the controller means comprises a power status calculatormeans for generating a power indication of power consumption relative toa power target, and a control engine means in communications with thepower status calculator means for generating a sampling controlresponsive to the power indication.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional pulse oximeter sensor andmonitor;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a pulse oximeter having a conventionalsleep mode;

FIG. 3 is a top-level block diagram of a low power pulse oximeter;

FIG. 4 is a detailed block diagram of a low power pulse oximeterillustrating a sensor interface, a signal processor and a samplingcontroller;

FIG. 5 is a graph of emitter drive current versus time illustratingvariable duty cycle processing;

FIG. 6 is a graph of oxygen saturation versus time illustratingintermittent sample processing;

FIGS. 7A-B are graphs of data buffer content versus time illustratingvariable data block overlap processing;

FIG. 8 is a graph of power versus time illustrating power dissipationconformance to an average power target using variable duty cycle andintermittent sample processing;

FIG. 9 is a state diagram of the sampling controller for variable dutycycle and intermittent sample processing;

FIG. 10 is a graph of power versus time illustrating power dissipationusing variable data block overlap processing; and

FIG. 11 is a state diagram of the sampling controller for variable datablock overlap processing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a low power pulse oximeter. Thepulse oximeter 300 has a sensor interface 320, a signal processor 340, asampling controller 360 and a display driver 380. The pulse oximeter 300also has a sensor port 302 and a display port 304. The sensor port 302connects to an external sensor, e.g. sensor 110 (FIG. 1). The sensorinterface 320 drives the sensor port 302, receives a corresponding inputsignal from the sensor port 302, and provides a conditioned anddigitized sensor signal 322 accordingly. Physiological measurements 342are input to a display driver 380 that outputs to the display port 304.The display port 304 connects to a display device, such as a CRT or LCD,which a healthcare provider typically uses for monitoring a patient'soxygen saturation, pulse rate and plethysmograph.

As shown in FIG. 3, the signal processor 340 derives the physiologicalmeasurements 342, including oxygen saturation, pulse rate andplethysmograph, from the input signal 322. The signal processor 340 alsoderives signal statistics 344, such as signal strength, noise and motionartifact. The physiological measurements 342 and signal statistics 344are input to the sampling controller 360, which outputs samplingcontrols 362, 364, 366 accordingly. The sampling controls 362, 364, 366regulate pulse oximeter power dissipation by causing the sensorinterface 320 to vary the sampling characteristics of the sensor port302 and by causing the signal processor 340 to vary its sampleprocessing characteristics, as described in further detail with respectto FIG. 4, below. Advantageously, power dissipation is responsive notonly to output parameters, such as the physiological measurements 342,but also to internal parameters, such as the signal statistics 344.

FIG. 4 illustrates further detail regarding the sensor interface 320,the signal processor 340 and the sampling controller 360. The sensorinterface 320 has emitter drivers 480 and a detector front-end 490. Theemitter drivers 480 are responsive to a sampling control 362, describedbelow, and provide emitter drive outputs 482. The emitter drive outputs482 activate the LEDs of a sensor attached to the sensor port 302 (FIG.3). The detector front-end 490 receives an input signal 492 from asensor attached to the sensor port 302 (FIG. 3) and provides acorresponding conditioned and digitized input signal 322 to the signalprocessor 340. A sampling control 364 controls power to the detectorfront-end 490, as described below.

As shown in FIG. 4, the signal processor 340 has a pre-processor 410 anda post processor 430. The pre-processor 410 demodulates red and IRsignals from the digitized signal 322, performs filtering, and reducesthe sample rate. The pre-processor provides a demodulated output, havinga red channel 412 and an IR channel 414, which is input into thepost-processor 430. The post processor 430 calculates the physiologicalmeasurements 342 and the signal statistics 344, which are output to asignal status calculator 450. The physiological measurements 342 arealso output to a display driver 380 (FIG. 3) as described above. A pulseoximetry signal processor is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,735entitled “Signal Processing Apparatus,” which is assigned to theassignee of the present invention and incorporated by reference herein.

Also shown in FIG. 4, the sampling controller 360 has a control engine440, a signal status calculator 450 and a power status calculator 460.The control engine 440 outputs sampling controls 362, 364, 366 to reducethe power consumption of the pulse oximeter 300. In one embodiment, thecontrol engine 440 advantageously utilizes multiple sampling mechanismsto alter power consumption. One sampling mechanism is an emitter dutycycle control 362 that is an input to the emitter drivers 480. Theemitter duty cycle control 362 determines the duty cycle of the currentsupplied by the emitter drive outputs 482 to both red and IR sensoremitters, as described with respect to FIG. 5, below. Another samplingmechanism is a front-end control 364 that intermittently removes powerto the detector front-end 490, as described with respected to FIG. 6,below. Yet another sampling mechanism is a data block overlap control366 that varies the number of data blocks processed by the postprocessor 430. These various sampling mechanisms provide the flexibilityto reduce power without sacrificing performance during, for example,high noise conditions or oxygen desaturation events, as described belowin further detail.

The sampling controls 362, 364, 366 modify power consumption by, ineffect, increasing or decreasing the number of input samples receivedand processed. Sampling, including acquiring input signal samples andsubsequent sample processing, can be reduced during high signal qualityperiods and increased during low signal quality periods or when criticalmeasurements are necessary. In this manner, the control engine 440regulates power consumption to satisfy a predetermined power target, tominimize power consumption, or to simply reduce power consumption, asdescribed with respect to FIGS. 8 and 10, below. The current state ofthe control engine is provided as a control state output 442 to thepower status calculator 460. The control engine 440 utilizes the powerstatus output 462 and the signal status output 452 to determine its nextcontrol state, as described with respect to FIGS. 9 and 11, below.

Further shown in FIG. 4, the signal status calculator 450 receivesphysiological measurements and signal statistics from the post processor430 and determines the occurrence of an event or a low signal qualitycondition. An event determination is based upon the physiologicalmeasurements output 342 and may be any physiological-related indicationthat justifies the processing of more sensor samples and an associatedhigher power consumption level, such as an oxygen desaturation, a fastor irregular pulse rate or an unusual plethysmograph waveform to name afew. A low signal quality condition is based upon the signal statisticsoutput 344 and may be any signal-related indication that justifies theprocessing of more sensor samples and an associated higher powerconsumption level, such as a low signal level, a high noise level ormotion artifact to name a few. The signal status calculator 450 providesthe signal status output 452 that is input to the control engine 440.

In addition, FIG. 4 shows that the power status calculator 460 has acontrol state input 442 and a power status output 462. The control stateinput 442 indicates the current state of the control engine 440. Thepower status calculator 460 utilizes an internal time base, such as acounter, timer or real-time clock, in conjunction with the controlengine state to estimate the average power consumption of at least aportion of the pulse oximeter 300. The power status calculator 460 alsostores a predetermined power target and compares its power consumptionestimate to this target. The power status calculator 460 generates thepower status output 462 as an indication that the current average powerestimate is above or below the power target and provides this output 462to the control engine 440.

FIG. 5 illustrates emitter driver output current versus time. The graph500 depicts the combination of a red LED drive current 510 and an IRdrive current 560. The solid line graph 502 illustrates drive currentshaving a high duty cycle. The dashed line graph 504 illustrates drivecurrents having a low duty cycle. In a typical pulse oximeter, the dutycycle of the drive signals is constant and provides sufficient darkbands 508 to demodulate the detector response into red and IR channels.The emitter drivers 480 (FIG. 4), however, require a significant portionof the overall pulse oximeter power budget. Intermittently reducing thedrive current duty cycle can advantageously reduce power dissipationwithout compromising signal integrity. As an example, a low power pulseoximeter implementation nominally consuming 500 mw may be able to reducepower consumption on the order of 70 mw by such drive current duty cyclereductions. In a preferred embodiment, the drive current duty cycle isvaried within a range from about 25% to about 3.125%. In a morepreferred embodiment, the drive current duty cycle is intermittentlyreduced from about 25% to about 3.125%. In conjunction with anintermittently reduced duty cycle or as an independent samplingmechanism, there may be a “data off” time period longer than one drivecurrent cycle where the emitter drivers 480 (FIG. 4) are turned off. Thedetector front-end 490 (FIG. 4) may also be powered down during such adata off period, as described with respect to FIGS. 8 and 9, below.

FIG. 6 is a graph 600 of a pre-processor output signal 610 over timedepicting the result of intermittent sampling at the detector front-end490 (FIG. 4). The output signal 610 is a red channel 412 (FIG. 4) or anIR channel 414 (FIG. 4) output from the pre-processor 410 (FIG. 4),which is input to the post processor 430 (FIG. 4), as described above.The output signal 610 has “on” periods 612, during which time thedetector front-end 490 (FIG. 4) is powered-up and “off” periods 614,during which time the detector front-end 490 (FIG. 4) is powered-down.The location and duration of the on periods 612 and off periods 614 aredetermined by the front-end control 364 (FIG. 4).

Also shown in FIG. 6 is a corresponding timeline 601 of overlapping datablocks 700, which are “snap-shots” of the pre-processor output signal610 over specific time intervals. Specifically, the post processor 430(FIG. 4) processes a sliding window of samples of the pre-processoroutput signal 610, as described with respect to FIGS. 7A-B, below.Advantageously, the post processor 430 (FIG. 4) continues to functionduring off portions 614, marking as invalid those data blocks 640 thatincorporate off portions 614. A freshness counter can be used to measurethe time period 660 between valid data blocks 630, which can bedisplayed on a pulse oximeter monitor as an indication of confidence inthe current measurements.

FIGS. 7A-B illustrate data blocks 700, which are processed by the postprocessor 430 (FIG. 4). Each data block 700 has n samples 702 of thepre-processor output and corresponds to a time interval 704 of n/f_(s),where f_(s) is the sample frequency. For example, in one embodimentn=600 and f_(s)=62.5 Hz. Hence, each data block time interval 704 isnominally 9.6 sec.

As shown in FIG. 7A, each data block 700 also has a relative time shift706 from the preceding data block, where is an integral number of sampleperiods. That is, =m/f_(s), where m is an integer representing thenumber of samples dropped from the preceding data block and added to thesucceeding data block. In the embodiment described above, m=75 and =1.2sec, nominally. The corresponding overlap 708 of two adjacent datablocks 710, 720 is (n−m)/f_(s). In the embodiment described above, theoverlap 708 is nominally 9.6 sec−1.2 sec=8.4 sec. The greater theoverlap 708, i.e. the smaller the time shift 706, the more data blocksthere are to process in the post-processor 430 (FIG. 4), with acorresponding greater power consumption. The overlap 708 betweensuccessive data blocks 710, 720 may vary from n−1 samples to no samples,i.e. no overlap. Also, as shown in FIG. 7B, there may be a sample gap756 or negative overlap, i.e. samples between data blocks that are notprocessed by the post-processor, allowing further post-processor powersavings. Sample gaps 756 may correspond to detector front-end offperiods 614 (FIG. 6).

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplar power consumption versus time profile 800for the pulse oximeter 300 (FIG. 3) during various control enginestates. In one embodiment, the control engine 440 (FIG. 4) has threestates related to the sampling control outputs 362, 364 that affectpulse oximeter power consumption accordingly. One of ordinary skill inthe art will recognize that the control engine 440 (FIG. 4) may havegreater or fewer states and associated power consumption levels. Theprofile 800 shows the three control engine states 810 and the associatedpower consumption levels 820. These three states are high duty cycle812, low duty cycle 814 and data off 818.

In the high duty cycle state 812, the control engine 440 (FIG. 4) causesthe emitter drivers 480 (FIG. 4) to turn on sensor emitters for arelatively long time period, such as 25% on time for each of the red 510and IR 560 drive currents. In the low duty cycle state 814, the controlengine 440 (FIG. 4) causes the emitter drivers 480 (FIG. 4) to turn onsensor emitters for a relatively short time period, such as 3.125% ofthe time for each of the red 510 and IR 560 drive currents. In the dataoff state 818, the control engine 440 (FIG. 4) turns off the emitterdrivers 480 (FIG. 4) and powers down the detector front-end 490 (FIG.4). Also shown is a predetermined target power consumption level 830.The control engine 440 (FIG. 4) alters the sensor sampling of the pulseoximeter 300 (FIG. 3) so that the average power consumption matches thetarget level 830, as indicated by the power status output 462 (FIG. 4),except when overridden by the signal status output 452 (FIG. 4).

As shown in FIG. 8, power consumption changes according to the controlstates 810 during each of the time intervals 850. In a first timeinterval 851, the pulse oximeter is in a low duty cycle state 814 andtransitions to a high duty cycle state 812 during a second time interval852 due to an event or low quality signal. During a third time interval853, the pulse oximeter is able to enter the data off state 818, duringwhich time no sensor samples are processed. In a forth time interval854, sensor samples are again taken, but at a low duty cycle 814. Duringthe fifth and sixth time intervals 855, 856, sensor samples are shut offand turned on again as the pulse oximeter 300 (FIG. 3) alternatesbetween the data off state 818 and the low duty cycle state 814 so as tomaintain an average power consumption at the target level 830.

FIG. 9 illustrates a state diagram 900 for one embodiment of the controlengine 440 (FIG. 4). In this embodiment, there are three control states,high duty cycle 910, low duty cycle 940 and data off 970, as describedwith respect to FIG. 8, above. If the control state is data off 970, anevent triggers a data-off to high-duty-cycle transition 972. If thecontrol state is low duty cycle 940, an event similarly triggers alow-duty cycle to high-duty-cycle transition 942. In this manner, theoccurrence of an event initiates high duty sensor sampling, allowinghigh fidelity monitoring of the event. Similarly, if the control stateis low duty cycle 940, low signal quality triggers a low-duty cycle tohigh-duty-cycle transition 942. In this manner, low signal qualityinitiates higher duty sensor sampling, providing, for example, a largersignal-to-noise ratio.

Also shown in FIG. 9, if the control state is high duty cycle 910 andeither an event is occurring or signal quality is low, then a nulltransition 918 maintains the high duty cycle state 910. If the pulseoximeter is not above the power target for more than a particular timeinterval, a null transition 948 maintains the low duty cycle state 940,so that sampling is turned-off only when necessary to track the powertarget. Further, if the control state is data off 970 and no time-outhas occurred, a null transition 978 maintains the data off state 970,providing a minimum power consumption.

In addition, FIG. 9 shows that when the control state is in a high dutycycle state 910, if neither an event nor low signal quality areoccurring, then a high-duty-cycle to low-duty-cycle transition 912occurs by default. Also, if the control state is low duty cycle 940, ifneither an event nor low signal quality are occurring and the powerconsumption is above the target level for longer than a particular timeinterval, a low-duty-cycle to data-off transition 944 occurs by default,allowing power consumption to come down to the target level. Further, ifthe control state is data off 970, if no event occurs and a timeout doesoccur, a data-off to low-duty-cycle transition 974 occurs by default,preventing excessively long periods of no sensor sampling.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplar power consumption versus time profile1000 for the post processor 430 (FIG. 4) during various control enginestates. In one embodiment, the control engine 440 (FIG. 4) has threestates related to the sampling control output 366 (FIG. 4) that affectpost processor power consumption accordingly. One of ordinary skill inthe art will recognize that the control engine may have greater or fewerstates and associated power consumption levels. The profile 1000 showsthe three control engine states 1010 and the associated post processorpower consumption levels 1020. These three states are large overlap1012, medium overlap 1014 and small overlap 1018.

As shown in FIG. 10, in the large overlap state 1012, the control engine440 (FIG. 4) causes the post processor to process data blocks that havea comparatively small time shift 706 (FIG. 7A), and the post processorexhibits relatively high power consumption under these conditions, say300 mw. In the medium overlap state 1014, the control engine 440 (FIG.4) causes the post processor to process data blocks that have acomparatively larger time shift 706 (FIG. 7A). For example, the datablocks may be time shifted twice as much as for the large overlap state1012, and, as such, the post processor performs only half as manycomputations and consumes half the nominal power, say 150 mw. In thesmall overlap state 1018, the control engine 440 (FIG. 4) causes thepost processor to process data blocks that have a comparatively largetime shift. For example, the data blocks may be time shifted twice asmuch as for the medium overlap state 1014. As such, the post processorperforms only a quarter as many computations and consumes a quarter ofthe nominal power, say 75 mw, as for the large overlap state 1012. Inone embodiment, the control engine 440 (FIG. 4) alters the data blockoverlap of the post processor in conjunction with the duty cycle of theemitter drivers described with respect to FIG. 5, above, and thefront-end sampling described with respect to FIG. 6, above, so that theaverage power consumption of the pulse oximeter matches a target levelindicated by the power status output 462 (FIG. 4) or so that the powerconsumption is otherwise reduced or minimized.

In a preferred embodiment, data blocks are time shifted by either about0.4 sec or about 1.2 sec, depending on the overlap state of the controlengine 440 (FIG. 4). In a more preferred embodiment, the data blocks arevaried between about 1.2 sec and about 4.8 sec. In a most preferredembodiment, the data blocks are time shifted by either about 1.2 sec,about 2.4 sec or about 4.8 sec, depending on the overlap state of thecontrol engine 440 (FIG. 4). Although the post-processing of data blocksis described above with respect to only a few overlap states and acorresponding number of particular data block time shifts, there may bemany overlap states and a corresponding range of data block time shifts.

Further shown in FIG. 10, power consumption 1020 changes according tothe control states 1010 during each of the time intervals 1050. In afirst time interval 1052, the post processor is in a large overlap state1012 and transitions to a medium overlap state 1014 during a second timeinterval 1054, so as to meet a power target during a high signal qualityperiod, for example. During a third time interval 1055, the postprocessor enters a small overlap state 1018, for example to meet a powertarget by further reducing power consumption. In a forth time interval1056, the post processor transitions back to a large overlap state 1012,such as during an event or low signal quality conditions.

FIG. 11 illustrates a state diagram 1100 for one embodiment of thecontrol engine 440 (FIG. 4). These states may function in parallel with,or in combination with, the sampling states described with respect toFIG. 9, above. In the illustrated embodiment, there are three controlstates, large overlap 1110, medium overlap 1140 and small overlap 1170,as described with respect to FIG. 10, above. If the control state issmall overlap 1170, an event triggers a small overlap to large overlaptransition 1172. If the control state is medium overlap 1140, an eventsimilarly triggers a medium overlap to large-overlap transition 1142. Inthis manner, the occurrence of an event initiates the processing of moredata blocks, allowing more robust signal statistics and higher fidelitymonitoring of the event. Similarly, if the control state is mediumoverlap 1140, low signal quality triggers a medium overlap to largeoverlap transition 1142. In this manner, low signal quality initiatesthe processing of more data blocks, providing more robust signalstatistics during lower signal-to-noise ratio periods.

Also shown in FIG. 11, if the control state is large overlap 1110 andeither an event is occurring or signal quality is low, then a nulltransition 1118 maintains the large overlap state 1110. If the pulseoximeter is not above the power target for more than a particular timeinterval, a null transition 1148 maintains the medium overlap state1140, so that reduced data processing occurs only when necessary totrack the power target. Further, if the control state is small overlap1170, a null transition 1178 maintains this power saving state until thepower target is reached or an event or low signal quality conditionoccurs.

In addition, FIG. 11 shows that when the control state is in a largeoverlap state 1110, if neither an event nor low signal quality areoccurring, then a large overlap to medium overlap transition 1112 occursby default. Also, if the control state is medium overlap 1140, if thepower consumption is above the target level for longer than a particulartime interval and no low signal quality condition or event is occurring,a medium overlap to small overlap transition 1174 occurs, allowing powerconsumption to come down to the target level. Further, if the controlstate is small overlap 1170, if no event occurs but the power target hasbeen met, a small overlap to medium overlap transition 1174 occurs.

A low power pulse oximeter embodiment is described above as having apower status calculator 460 (FIG. 4) and an associated power target.Another embodiment of a low power pulse oximeter, however, functionswithout either a power status calculator or a power target, utilizingthe sampling controls 362, 364, 366 (FIG. 3) in response to internalparameters and/or output parameters, such as signal statistics 344 (FIG.3) and/or physiological measurements 342 (FIG. 3) to reduce powerconsumption except during, say, periods of low signal quality andphysiological events.

One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various statediagrams are possible representing control of the emitter drivers, thedetector front-end and the post-processor. Such state diagrams may havefewer or greater states with differing transitional characteristics andwith differing relationships between sampling mechanisms than theparticular embodiments described above. In relatively simple embodimentsof the control engine 440 (FIG. 4), only a single sampling mechanism isused, such as the sampling mechanism used to vary the duty cycle of theemitter drivers. The single sampling mechanism may be based only uponinternal parameters, such as signal quality, only upon outputparameters, such as those that indicate the occurrence of physiologicalevents, or upon a combination of internal and output parameters, with orwithout a power target.

In relatively more complex embodiments of the control engine 440 (FIG.4), sampling mechanisms are used in combination. These samplingmechanisms may be based only upon internal parameters, only upon outputparameters, or upon a combination of internal and output parameters,with or without a power target. In a particular embodiment, the emitterduty-cycle, front-end duty-cycle and data block overlap samplingmechanisms described above are combined. A “reduced overlap” staterelating to the post-processing of data blocks is added to the diagramof FIG. 9 between the “low duty cycle” state and the “data off” state.That is, sampling is varied between a high duty cycle state, a low dutycycle state, a reduced overlap state and a data off state in response tosignal quality and physiological events, with or without a power target.

The low power pulse oximeter has been disclosed in detail in connectionwith various embodiments. These embodiments are disclosed by way ofexamples only and are not to limit the scope of the claims that follow.One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate many variations andmodifications.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of managing power consumption duringcontinuous patient monitoring by adjusting behavior of a patientmonitor, the method comprising: continuously operating a patient monitorat a lower power consumption level to determine measurement values forone or more physiological parameters of a patient; comparing processingcharacteristics to a predetermined threshold; and when said processingcharacteristics pass said threshold, transitioning to continuouslyoperating said patient monitor at a higher power consumption level. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein said continuously operating at said lowerpower consumption level comprises reducing activation of an attachedsensor.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said reducing activationcomprises reducing a duty cycle of said sensor.
 4. The method of claim2, wherein said attached sensor comprises an optical sensor configuredto detect emitted light attenuated by body tissue of said patient. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein said continuously operating at said lowerpower consumption level comprises reducing an amount of processing by asignal processor.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein said reducingcomprises processing less data.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein saidprocessing less data comprises reducing an overlap in data blocks beingprocessed.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein during said operating atsaid higher power consumption level, monitoring when said processingcharacteristics recedes from said threshold; and when receded,transitioning to continuously operating said patient monitor at saidlower power consumption level.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein saidprocessing characteristics comprise signal characteristics from one ormore light sensitive detectors.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein saidsignal characteristics comprises signal strength.
 11. The method ofclaim 9, wherein said signal characteristics comprises a presence ofnoise.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein said signal characteristicscomprises a presence of motion induced noise.
 13. The method of claim 1,wherein said processing characteristics include determining an estimateof current power consumption and comparing said estimate with a targetpower consumption.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein said processingcharacteristics include an override condition.
 15. The method of claim14, wherein said override condition comprises measurements during acritical care environment.
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein saidoverride condition comprises one or more monitored parameters exhibitingpredefined behavior.